"Master," the old butler's lips trembled slightly, "what do you mean by saying this to me? Do you want to stop caring about us?"
At this point, the old housekeeper, who was already old, could not help but burst into tears: "Master, please don't leave. If you leave, how will the people in this city live?"
"Since the master came, everyone knows what it means to live with dignity. A small Qucheng has all the good things that big cities don't have. This is all thanks to the master."
"As for the crops in the fields, it was thanks to Master's advice that we had a bumper harvest this year."
"Master, please don't abandon us—"
The old housekeeper spoke with such sincerity that he became more and more sad as he spoke. Finally, he couldn't help but collapse on the ground, hugging An Jingzhi's thighs and crying loudly.
"Old housekeeper—" An Jingzhi was a little amused and helpless by his wailing, and wanted to comfort him.
The old butler thought An Jingzhi wanted to pull his hand away and leave, so he couldn't help but hug him tighter.
"Master, don't go!" The old butler suddenly thought that if he couldn't stop the master from leaving, then he could follow the master!
Thinking of this, he rolled over and got up from the ground. His body was flexible and he didn't look like an elderly man.
Looking at An Jingzhi eagerly, he said, "Master, I know you have your own family. It's not appropriate to force you to stay here. If you really want to leave, can you take my family with you?"
The old butler's words really surprised An Jingzhi.
"Here you can be a steward of the City Lord's Mansion, and your sons can also take up management positions. If you follow me, you will just be a country dweller. Are you willing to do that?"
The old butler said nonchalantly, "These things were given by the master. When the next city lord comes, if he is not satisfied, we are nothing."
"Master, I know exactly what I'm talking about. My family's prosperity depends entirely on you."
"Even if you are just an ordinary mountain dweller, I will accept you. Wherever the master goes, I will go!"
He thought very clearly that if the master was really an ordinary civilian, he would be willing to follow him.
Judging from his experience of being with the master for some time, the master is destined to be no ordinary person.
It’s so chaotic outside, the safest thing is to stay with the master!
"You may be willing, but your sons, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren may not be willing."
The old housekeeper immediately said firmly: "I am the master of this family. If they don't agree, I will kick them out immediately."
This old man has his own little thoughts, but he never doubts his loyalty to An Jingzhi.
No matter what the reason was, the old butler never let him down.
He smiled and decided not to tease the old man anymore, otherwise the old butler might turn around and pack his luggage.
"Old housekeeper, I won't leave."
"Okay, I'll go back and pack up—" The old housekeeper suddenly realized something was wrong midway through his sentence, "What did the master just say? Master, are you saying you're not leaving?"
"Yes, old butler, I have no intention of leaving."
"The Marquis of Ji is dead, and the Marquis of Huai'an has joined forces with several other princes to commit rebellion. The law is meaningless."
"Qucheng has long been an unowned land. Besides, this is the place I built bit by bit. How can I bear to leave?"
The old housekeeper couldn't help crying with joy after hearing this. "Master really won't leave. What about his relatives?"
"It's not peaceful outside. I plan to bring them to Qucheng. Old housekeeper, I'm coming to you to be honest because I trust you."
"I want you to go and get them for me."
The old housekeeper immediately patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, Master! I will definitely make sure it's cleared for you!"
That’s great. As long as we bring the master’s relatives over, we won’t have to worry about the master becoming depressed and abandoning them!
But how should the master’s identity be revealed to others?
"Master, do you want to tell me your true identity?"
An Jingzhi shook his head and said, "I never said that I was a descendant of the Marquis of Ji."
"There's no need to hide it, and there's no need to explain it."
The old butler thought about it and felt that it was indeed the case. The master's identity was determined by them, and the master had never said who he was.
"Master, is this inappropriate? The Earl of Rongchang's fiefdom is closest to ours. If some news gets out, will they have bad intentions?"
"Have you forgotten what Young Master Rong Li looked like? They couldn't even protect themselves, so how could they dare to have any ideas?"
"Besides, even if they really have other ideas, does that mean we in Qucheng are afraid?"
Does he really think that the military strategies and sharp weapons he wrote with great care are just decorations?
After hearing this, the old housekeeper felt relieved. After saying goodbye to An Jingzhi, he immediately led his men out of the city to bring all of An Jingzhi's relatives to Qucheng.
In this way, the master will be tied to them from now on.
…
The people in Miki Village also noticed something was wrong outside.
Although there are not many big businessmen passing through their area, there are often some traveling merchants at the foot of the mountain. However, these days, when they wanted to go down the mountain to exchange some things, they didn't see anyone, so they could only go to the nearby city.
But it takes two or three days to travel to any of the nearby cities, and the journey may not be safe.
"Uncle Nine, something seems to be wrong out there. We've been encountering more and more bandits lately."
"The group we repelled yesterday seemed to still be wearing armor. They looked like defeated soldiers."
"If they are really deserters, they will definitely not let us go after suffering a loss yesterday. We never know when they will come with their men to attack us."
"The men in the village are not afraid of fighting those bandits, and the women in our village are all good fighters. The only thing we are afraid of is the soldiers."
Those soldiers were different from ordinary bandits. Even if they were defeated soldiers, they had fought on the battlefield many times.
Uncle Jiu's face didn't look very good either. He had roughly figured it out from the abnormal situation during this period.
"There are fewer and fewer merchants around here because the outside world is becoming increasingly unstable. I guess those merchants would have been killed and robbed before they even reached the foot of our mountain."
He let out a long sigh and looked over the faces.
"The world is in chaos again, Clan Leader," Uncle Nine said, showing due respect to the Clan Leader. "Make a decision as soon as possible. I'm afraid we can't stay here any longer."
Although they live in the mountains, it is not a deep forest. Many people know that there are people living in this area. If they really want to find it, it is not difficult.
If the common people living in the fiefdoms of the nobles had any conscience, they would let them hide in the city.
They can only rely entirely on themselves.
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